This present invention relates to a device for dispensing thin sheets including paper. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for dispensing individual sheets of adhesive coated products, including note pad papers, from a stack where the sheets releasably adhere to one another along opposite edges of successive sheets.
The prior art includes a number of dispensers for use with sheet and various other stationary products. The vast majority of the devices are designed to receive a uniform stack of identical sheets. The individual sheets are then dispensed by engaging and moving the sheet to a position that is accessible to the user. The means for engaging the sheet is typically a mechanical arm that frictionally engages the sheet and slidably removing it from the remaining sheets of the stack. This same operational mechanism is repeated in a number of patents, namely U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,165 to Leopoldi, U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,591 to Lin et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,223 to Huang, U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,000 to Goff, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,517,855 to Hillis. However, each of these devices is impractical for use with the unbound, adhesive coated sheet products to which the present invention pertains.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,721 to Vance discloses a mechanism for dispensing individual sheets of note pad paper having a reusable adhesive strip on each leaf of the note pad. Although the invention is effective for separating an individual sheet from a stack of adhesive coated sheets, it is limited to a specific type of note paper in which the adhesive is applied to a common edge or side of every sheet within the stack. As such, it is inoperable with respect to the type of sheet product the present invention is directed toward.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,254 to Feer, U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,263 to Emoff et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,825 to Miles, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,712 to Carlson et al. are intended for use with note pad papers that releasably adhere to one another using a thin adhesive strip along opposite edges of successive sheets. An example of an adhesive coated stack is sold under the trade designation xe2x80x9cPOST-ITxe2x80x9d by Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, St. Paul, Minn.
The patents to Feer, Emoff, Miles, and Carlson each disclose an apparatus in which the upper most sheet of the stack of adhesive coated sheets is made to protrude from a slot in the top surface of each container. The edge of the uppermost sheet opposite the adhesive strip is drawn from the container as a consequence of the removal of the previous uppermost sheet. Once an edge is ejected from the slot, the sheet remains in the position that is visible and accessible to the user until it is removed. In each prior art dispenser, the edge of the uppermost sheet must necessarily protrude from the dispenser to permit the user to access the sheet as well as manually draw the next sheet below into the position of the upper most sheet.
The present invention overcomes the limitations of the prior art with a dispenser that supports the uppermost sheet in proximity to the dispenser""s output until the dispenser is actuated, at which point the uppermost sheet is ejected from the dispenser using a mechanism that is independent of the process or means for removing the previous uppermost sheet, as required by the prior art.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus for dispensing individual sheets from a stack of adhesive coated sheets is comprised of a guide output; guiding means for directing the distal edge of the uppermost sheet out of the guide output; and repositioning means for intermittently altering the relative position of the stack and guiding means. In this embodiment, the distal edge of the uppermost sheet is driven from the position within the guiding means to a position accessible to the user at the guide output when the relative reposition of the stack and guiding means are changed by the repositioning means. The guiding means may take any of a number of forms including a pair of substantially planar structures that converge in the direction of the dispenser""s guide output. The repositioning means may include, for example, an electro-mechanical or other power operated device for altering the relative positions of the stack and guiding means. One skilled in the art will recognize that repositioning means may operate by moving the stack relative to the guiding means or, in the alternative, by moving the guide means relative to the stack.
In another embodiment, the dispenser is comprised of a carriage for retaining the stack of adhesive coated sheets; guiding means for laterally supporting the distal edge of a sheet and for directing the distal edge of the sheet out of the guiding means; and reciprocating means for intermittently altering the relative position of the carriage and guiding means. The distal edge of the sheet being laterally supported by the guiding means is directed out of the guiding means as the relative position of the carriage and guiding means are altered by the reciprocating means. The reciprocating means may actuate the carriage, the guide means, or both in response to the user input.
In another embodiment of the invention, the dispenser is comprised of a carriage in which the stack of adhesive coated sheets sits; reciprocating means for intermittently driving the carriage from a first rest position to a second rest position and vice versa; and guiding means having a guide input and guide output for directing the distal edge of a sheet from the guide input to the guide output as the carriage is driven by the reciprocating means from the first rest position to the second rest position or vice versa.
The method of dispensing sheets from a stack of adhesive coated sheets located at a first rest position, is comprised of the steps of positioning the distal end of an uppermost sheet against a first guide of a guiding means; repositioning the stack of adhesive coated sheets to a second rest position such that the distal end of an uppermost sheet is dispensed from the a guide output of the guiding means where it is accessible to the dispenser""s user; positioning the distal end of the next most sheet, i.e. the sheet immediately below the uppermost sheet, against a second guide of the guiding means; and repositioning the stack of adhesive coated sheets to the first rest position such that the distal end of an next most sheet is dispensed or ejected from the guide output where it is accessible to the dispenser""s user.